Tech’s Paul Johnson: The best playcaller in the business
PJ's adjustments haven't included sending this guy in motion -- yet. (Brant Sanderlin, AJC)
It was the night of Oct. 3. Georgia Tech was playing Mississippi State in Starkville. With 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Jackets punted.
I mention this for a reason. That was more than a calendar month ago, and the Jackets haven’t punted in a second half since. Not at Florida State. Not against Virginia Tech. Not at Virginia. Not at Vandy.
Eight quarters of football. Not one second-half punt. And you know what this says?
Paul Johnson is the archduke of adjustments.
We hear announcers talking about them all the time. We hear Erin Andrews and her sideline-reporting ilk ask, “Coach, what adjustments will you make at halftime?” Ninety-five percent of the time coaches wind up doing the same thing in the second half as they did in the first.
Not PJ. He tweaks. He brings a guy in motion from a different angle. He splits a guy a tad wider. He runs the same stuff, only slightly differently. And Tech’s offense goes from powerful in the first half to unstoppable in the second.
You might ask Willie Martinez about this. Last November Georgia went from leading 28-12 at halftime to trailing 35-28 — in the span of seven minutes and five seconds. The Bulldogs had the game in hand, and suddenly they were chasing it. (And once PJ gets ahead, forget it. Tech is 8-1 the past two seasons in games decided by five or fewer points.)
“He’s not really coaching,” says Wayne Hogan, the pithy Tech associate AD. “He’s playing a video game!”
And that’s it exactly. Johnson figures stuff out on the fly. Even if the opponent seems to havee a handle on his stylized offense, he performs his little ju jitsu. He wears a headset on the sideline, but it’s just for show. He could make the same mid-course corrections wearing earmuffs.
We’ve known for a while he’s an outstanding head coach, but what sometimes gets lost is that he’s the best playcaller in the business. Hogan again: “Our coach is pretty cool.” And that’s it, too. To borrow Bob Greene’s description of Frank Gifford, PJ of GT is always the coolest guy in the room — even if the room holds 80,000.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
451 comments Add your comment
Yellow Fuzz
November 8th, 2009
7:29 pm
Anybody heard from AtlantaTruth since early August? Me neither. lol.
AtlantaTruth
August 6th, 2009
11:20 am
Only 113 days till the Tech beat down in Atlanta. Its posted in the locker room at Georgia…beware Tech fans its gonna hurt so bad you won’t be able to show your faces. Tech always has been and will continue to be a second tier college football program. I’ll bet you that there will be more Dawg fans at Grant Field than Tech fans for the game. Isn’t it amazing that Tech consistently is out recruited by not only Georgia but also Clemson, Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn and more recently Alabama in its own state? That fact alone should tell you that the Tech program is not thought of very highly throughout the South. Have your childish fun now Tech fans posting on this blog cause after this year’s game Tech will be back in its rightful place….irrelavant in college football!
AtlantaTruth
August 6th, 2009
2:30 pm
Please…….stop…. please stop…we’re laughing so hard at your blogs we just can’t stand it. Tech a national power…what are you guys smoking? I love how you talk about running for 400 yards aganist Georgia…… Wake up. Tech is not that good and far from a national power….please I’m laughing to hard!
AtlantaTruth
August 6th, 2009
3:14 pm
When was the last time Tech had a great coach? the fifties?….When was the last time you had great talent…Reggie Ball?…please stop I’m laughing again…..Please don’t forget our golf team and equestrian teams winning NC’s…How about our 02′and 05′ SEC Championships…… you know as long as were counting. When was the last time Tech won the mighty ACC? ….keep dreaming and posting on this blog….I need a good laugh every day.
Atlanta Truth
August 6th, 2009
6:04 pm
The truth hurts doesn’t it Tech Fans…..Tampa Gator is that all you have? Doak Walker award? Choice?…get a life. I’d start naming the Georgia backs and players now in the NFL..but I’d run out of room. What a bunch of pompous phonies. How many championships did Calvin Johnson win for Tech while he was there? And you’re telling me I give Georgia bloggers a bad name….stop I’m really laughing hard now. Come see me when you win the ACC…or a BCS game…or sell out your stadium for a home game. Until then NOBODY that closely follows college football thinks Tech football is RELEVANT!
AtlantaTruth
August 7th, 2009
2:08 am
Are you kidding me. Tech wasn’t even a consensus NC winner in 1990. The poll that mattered didn’t have Tech #1.You asked if you are supposed to be scared by my rhetoric…..I really don’t care. All I do is state the facts. Just because you Tech fans live in a dream world and interpret them the way that makes you feel better about yourselves is your problem. Believe me your team is not that good. Average at best. Tech will not win the ACC, and definitely WILL NOT beat Georgia. In looking at the Tech schedule…I see Tech losing at least five games and possibly six. I predict that Tech will lose to Georgia by at least 17 points……Tech is a team that actually dropped out of the SEC because they thought they were better than everyone else and where did it get Tech?…relegated to a second tier team in the ACC. When Tech consistently has double digit win seasons, wins the ACC, and plays in meaningful BCS bowl games you’ll be able to pound your chest and tell me and everyone else that will listen how great Tech is until then….the Tech football program is irrelevant!